Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Brazilian MOH: Weekly Microcephaly Report - May 24th

#11,398

The weekly
Brazilian MOH Microcephaly report is out, and the
number of suspected cases under investigation has increased by 89, while the number of confirmed microcephaly cases has increased by 50 over the previous week.

Both numbers are well below the weekly numbers we were seeing added only a
couple of months ago.

Upon further investigation, another 114 have been discarded as not meeting the criteria for microcephaly, leaving the total remaining under investigation at 3257.

Microcephaly is the most apparent congenital defect at birth,
but we've been warned by the CDC, NIH, and WHO that maternal Zika infection may
produce other, less obvious neurological deficits in developing
fetuses, and they may not become apparent until the child is much older.

The Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday (24), the
Report of Epidemiological microcephaly related to week 20 of this year,
until 21 May. The new report confirms 1,434 cases
of microcephaly and other nervous system disorders, suggestive of
congenital infection throughout the country.

The report gathers information sent weekly by state health departments. In
total, they reported 7,623 suspected cases since the beginning of the
investigation, in October 2015, and 3,257 remain under investigation. Other 2,932 were discarded because of normal tests, or because they have microcephaly and or malformations confirmed because no infectious or do not meet the case definition. The 1,434 confirmed cases in Brazil occurred in 517 municipalities located in 25 states of the federation. Of these cases, 208 were confirmed by specific laboratory criteria for Zika virus.

The
Ministry of Health, however, points out that this figure does not
represent adequately the total number of cases related to the virus. The folder considers that there was infection Zika most of the mothers who had babies with a final diagnosis of microcephaly. In
relation to deaths in the same period, there were 285 suspected deaths
of microcephaly and / or alteration of the central nervous system after
delivery or during pregnancy (miscarriage or stillbirth) in the country.
Of these, 60 were confirmed to microcephaly and / or alteration of the central nervous system. Other 187 are still under investigation and 38 were discarded.

The
Ministry of Health says it is investigating all cases of microcephaly
and other disorders of the central nervous system, informed by the
states, and the possible relationship with the Zika virus and other
congenital infections. Microcephaly may be caused by ,
various infectious agents beyond Zika as Syphilis, Toxoplasmosis, Other
Infectious Agents, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus and Herpes Viral.

The
folder guides pregnant women adopt measures to reduce the presence of
Aedes aegypti, the elimination of breeding, and protect themselves from
mosquito exposure, keeping doors and windows closed or screened, wear
pants and long sleeved shirts and use repellents allowed to pregnant
women.